# Presets

Source: https://permdock.com/docs/concepts/presets

A preset is an archetype plus the features, auth, backend, framework, agent runtimes, UI and PermDock Cloud services an app needs, encoded as a short versioned code; permdock/preset generates the application's own files from it, the same in permdock init, the @permdock registry and the /create page.

A preset describes a starting point: a SaaS archetype and the features and stack it runs on. [/create](https://permdock.com/create) builds one in the browser, `permdock init` writes it into a project, and the code that names it can be shared, opened and changed again.

| Part | Choices |
| --- | --- |
| Archetype | `b2b`, `agent`, `marketplace`, `api`, `internal`, `consumer` |
| Features | `tenancy`, `custom-roles`, `approvals`, `agents`, `audit`, `limits`, `plans`, `ownership`, `api-keys`, `rls` |
| Auth | `custom`, `supabase`, `better-auth`, `clerk`, `jwt` |
| Backend | `memory`, `supabase`, `drizzle`, `prisma` |
| Framework | `next`, `hono`, `express`, `none` |
| Agents | `ai-sdk`, `mcp` |
| UI | `shadcn`, `react-native` |
| Services | `cloud-decision-log`, `cloud-approvals`, `cloud-snapshots`, `cloud-hosted-grants` |

An archetype turns on the features it needs (`b2b` adds `tenancy`, `custom-roles` and `audit`); an agent runtime adds `agents`; `custom-roles` adds `tenancy`. Features are only ever added.

## Codes [#codes]

A code is `p1` and base64url bytes: the archetype, auth, backend and framework, then a bitset per multi-select list. Each list only grows at the end, so a code keeps its meaning as choices are added; a new layout gets a new prefix, and a version that cannot read it says so.

## Generating [#generating]

`permdock/preset` is pure: no file system, no network, the same in Node and the browser.

```ts
import { encodePreset, generatePreset, resolvePreset } from "permdock/preset";

const preset = resolvePreset({ archetype: "b2b", framework: "hono" });
const { code, files, dependencies, recipes, docs } = generatePreset(preset);
```

| File | What |
| --- | --- |
| `src/permissions.ts` | The archetype's resources with `crud()` or `readable()` and Zod schemas |
| `src/policy.ts` | Roles and grants as data: `on`, `min` and `assigns` with `tenancy`; `where` on the owner field with `ownership`; `approval: "human"` on destructive actions with `approvals`; `limit` with `limits`; a `plan("pro")` grant with `plans` |
| `src/permdock.ts` | `defineApp` with the features and services the preset picked and `profile` from `NODE_ENV` ([apps and profiles](/docs/concepts/apps)) |
| `src/data.ts`, `src/session.ts` | Row loaders and the signed-in user, to replace with your database and auth; the session returns `null` until wired, so every check fails closed |
| Framework file | `src/permdock/server.ts` (Next.js) or `src/server.ts` (Hono, Express, core) |
| `src/operations.ts`, `src/agent.ts`, `src/mcp.ts` | With agent runtimes |
| `src/keys.ts` | With `api-keys`: a `decideCredential` call |
| `permdock.config.ts` | With `rls` |

Every generated file is the application's own code. The rules (role ceilings, holder counts, approval binding, limits, verification) are in the `permdock` package that these files call, so updating the package updates them.

## Why [#why]

A preset generates declarations and wiring, never rules. A starter that copied authorization logic into the application could not receive a security fix; one that generates `definePolicy` data and `defineApp` wiring can, because `npm update` replaces everything the generated code calls. The code format is versioned and append-only for the same reason as the wire formats: a link shared today opens the same preset after the catalogue grows.